Preview

Women's Role In The Renaissance

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
551 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Women's Role In The Renaissance
History is highlighted by the actions of men. While they do have an impact, it is often overlooked that women have just as much of a driving force in the events of time. While they may not always lead armies or discover new continents, women have always pariticipated in history. In the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the French Revolution, women had a presence in the course of events.
The Renaissance is seen as a period of enlightenment and disocoveries. This is true, but it only applied to men. Women in this time period were seen as objects. This was because they were subjected to the mistakes Eve, the first female, made. She fell to temptation and in result, influenced Adam. They were kicked out of the Garden of Eden and forced to live a life of mortality. Because of Eve’s mistake, women in the Renaissance were kept hidden away, only to be used as a means of procreation. They weren’t allowed to grow develop their minds or talents. As the humanist scholar Marsilio Ficino said, "Women should be used like chamber pots: hidden away once a man has pissed in them." A woman’s presence in the Renaissance was seen in the children she had, but nothing more.
The Reformation was a
…show more content…
They were at the forefront of the demand for lower prices on bread, participated in the storming of Bastille, and led the March to Versailles. They called for change and Olympe de Gouge rewrote the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen to apply to women. She called it the Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizen. It exposed the failure of the French Revolution to recognize gender equality. She herself broke free of social restraints. She had several illegitimate children and lived with men who she was not married to. They supported her financially. Olyme de Gouge is considered the first feminist because of her progressive views on how women should be treated, gender equality, and female

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout history women have often played a significant role, although women haven’t usually been in a position of power, they have, none-the-less, often contributed in significant ways. Two women who impacted their societies are Empress Theodora and Queen Elizabeth.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The post-classical era was the time marked the end of the Holy Roman Empire to the beginning of the Age of Exploration. The post-classical era was the beginning of a lack of centralized government. Centralization eventually reoccured but not until many years later. A major change that did occur during this time period was the role of women throughout many different regions. Between 650 C.E. and 1450 C.E. (post-classical era), Indian women roles changed by women having to start marrying during childhood and women having their first female leader but it stayed the same by women continuing sati, being part of a patriarchal caste system, and having limited education. The role of Middle Eastern women changed during this time period by women losing respect, women having to start wearing veils, and more women becoming educated but it stayed the same by their society continuing to be patriarchal and them being equal under Islam.…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Declaration of Men blamed women for the “sole causes of public misfortunes and government corruption”. Olympe was an enlightenment thinker and was familiar with what they had thought. She used this to her advantage to try and gain the Enlightenment thinkers to believe in what she had written about. Not all women agreed with what she had stated in her Declaration for Woman because not all women were educated and not all women had the drive and the courage to speak up like Olympe had done. The enlightenment thinkers used “reason” to get their way so Olympe thought she would have all the Enlightenment thinkers on her side. In reality not many were on her side, Robespierre thought the same way she did, not about how all women should own property but that they deserved education. Yet he still voted in favor for her…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women during the Renaissance often had been seen in the art and literature of the movement but through most of it women had been neglected of any new rights during the Renaissance. Opposed from the Enlightenment, where women began to take advantages of intellectual trends. Even though most still had strict rules on what the women had been able to do, this time period has shown some of the first signs of feminism.…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Renaissance was a period in Europe when citizens became interested in the classical learning and ethics of ancient Greece and Rome. There were many accomplishments, such as the creation of new technologies, the discovery and exploration of new continents around the world, and the study of philosophy, literature, and art. However, there was one aspect of the Renaissance that some objected to, and that was the mistreatment of women in all classes. One person whom spoke out against the exploitation of women was Christine de Pizan. Through her books, she conveyed how women are much more than property, but in one book in particular, she focused more on how women can successfully manage their husbands. The basic concepts in the book were how…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She produced many works that called for civil rights, but is known for works that focused on the rights of women. One of the feminist organizations, the Society of Republican and Revolutionary Women, called on her to produce a document that would serve as the declaration of women’s rights. De Gouge’s most well known piece of work would be the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, which was published in 1791. Demand included in this piece of work included freedom of speech, the right to vote, and the opportunity to obtain public office. Many viewed the declaration as a response to the National Assembly’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Essentially, this declaration stated that women equal to men in every aspect of life and should be given the same…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution was such a radical and far-reaching event in history, it gave us a whole new set of political ideas. I don’t think the French revolutionary ideas were far reaching for the women, though. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote a critical essay on French revolution titled “A vindication of the rights of Woman” p-367, “that women, in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a variety of concurring causes, originating from one hasty conclusion” in which she argues that instead of seeing women as feeble sex, always needing of protection, Wollstonecraft writes that they are human beings deserving of the same basic rights as…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The English Renaissance lasted predominantly through the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Its influence was felt in many of the arts. Exploring or acknowledging sexuality was deemed negative due to gender expectations. “Traditionally, women were told to obey their fathers and then their husbands; to be virgins and then chaste wives; to prefer silence to speech and self-expression” (Carole Levin et al., 2000, p.15). The role of women in the renaissance was patriarchal in nature and their roles were secondary to men’s. Even putting class aside, women were expected to take on the traditional role of wife and fulfil the role that the concept of marriage gave them. Education for women was limited and gender inequality was what caused the…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Frq2

    • 345 Words
    • 1 Page

    While the average women in the Renaissance played no part in the actual Renaissance itself, a select few, very powerful women did impact the Renaissance.…

    • 345 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even to this very day, women are limited in opportunities compared to men. The Renaissance was a time of humanism which helped open up women’s options, but it was still insufficient. Select women were allowed to get a broad education, but they must never become a master of one topic. Even if they were lucky enough to have this knowledge, they were looked down on by men and even other women. However, few women broke past the gender barrier and were praised for their work. Women of the Renaissance simply could not please everyone when choosing to accept the few opportunities they were limited to.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unlike today, women in the Renaissance period didn’t have inalienable rights. There was an abundance of stereotypes during the Renaissance which kept women from reaching their potential achievements and abilities. Humanist believed that women were supposed to be a good companion to their husband and be a teacher to their children. Besides women having rules and being told how to live, Women in the Renaissance had better lives and more freedom than we think. Women didn't have rights at the time and men believed they were superior to women in every way. As the Renaissance came to an end, women started to claim their natural rights and became more independent. The conditions of the lives of women were not favorable but definitely tolerable. Women could go to classes or learn languages, although it was not a benefit to them, they were still expected to follow the stereotype of getting married and having children. Even though wealth separated the social classes, the stereotypes of women followed each social class i.e. running the…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many women became very vocal during the French revolution. Olympe de Gouge (1748 - 1793) perhaps became one of the outstanding and outspoken women during the revolution. She was a play writer whose writings focused on gender roles and equality between men and women. She wrote the “Declaration of the rights of woman and female citizen” in 1791 to elevate the status of women to have a full right just like the men. Her writings influenced the revolution even though she was charged with treason and guillotined in 1793. Her proposition on voluntary taxation was adopted by the National Council early in the revolution in 1789.…

    • 621 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not only in the History of France, but also in world history as well. Ideologies stemming from this time period would help to later overthrow the oppressive Napoleonic Government that was put in place, and eventually lead to a Democratic state that the French so yearned for. Documents such as Olympe De Gouge’s Declaration of The Rights of Woman would lay the groundwork for the modern feminism movement. And although women during this time period only saw a temporary taste of Freedom, they would eventually gain the rights in which they fought for. But the battle would be a long hard one, and it was this small temporary victory that would help to later turn the tide.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wadhawan

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The French Revolution was time of "liberty, equality, and fraternity." For the women of France, however, these ideologies were extremely ambiguous. Among many other limitations, women were allowed education only in the home, they could not sit in on juries, and marriage and divorce laws were extremely unfair. Legally and socially, women were inferior to men. The Revolution gave women the opportunity to evolve from subjects into participating citizens.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the French Revolution, precisely in 1789 the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the [Male] Citizen was established. The deceleration is composed of seventeen articles each granting equality in most aspects of life. They only problem with this deceleration was that it were only for men. Nowhere throughout any of the articles was anything about women mentioned. To even think about women’s rights during this time was preposterous. Among many one of the notable women who did open up about this was Olympe de Gouges. She wrote the Declaration of the Rights of women along with other documents like Les Trois Urnes which led to her arrest and execution in 1793. During the 1700’s women was nothing more than just an object. Their main role was just to be a good wife, reproduce and then take care of the family while men make all decisions (Nash). Gouges was different, she was like a black sheep of her era. Gouges was a woman who defied the odds and stood up for women rights.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays